My team is getting the carpet after a FRC event. I know each half is 15’ x 74’ and that it is heavy.
Does anyone know exactly how heavy? Is there a spec on weight per square yard, etc.?
Its enough to require a Forklift to get it out of the FIRSTWA Trucks (granted theyre stored at the top of the truck) and needs 4 guys with the carpet on one of the road trucks to push it in.
The complete specs for the current carpet may help figure out its actual weight, which seems to be a straight “26”
857 has an old roll of carpet (don’t know that exact dimensions) that took 10 people crossing arms under the carpet to lift and move.
This page lists its face weight at 20, which is 20 oz/ sq yd. 15’ x 74’ = 123.3 sq yd, so ~154 lb for each half.
So it seems that it’s more the awkwardness of the size (and weird floppyness of rolled up carpet when it buckles) that’s the biggest struggle to get past
Thankfully the spec has real units (metric).
(0.88155 kilograms) per (square meter) =
0.180555671 pounds per (square foot)
For 17x54’ thats ~166lbs. However, I will second that the bulk and awkwardness make this easily a 10-student job to move. We used to roll it onto 2 of those 4-wheel moving dollys after Troy District. It takes fewer individuals if you recruit your local football team.
Thanks for the link to the data sheet.
The Average Joes have a lot of practice handling FRC carpet. We began hosting a district event in 2013, so a lot of carpet has passed through our doors, and been rolled/unrolled many times.
We use small furniture dollies to stack 1/4 field (15x37) rolls. When setting up for practice, we often use either two or three of those.
Handling 1/2 field rolls (15x74) is more challenging, but two or three of the dollies and about six students can manage it. We typically cut the 1/2 field rolls into 1/4 size after each event.
Rolling carpet up into a nice square roll (without a pencil point at one end) is another skill that takes practice.
More than a little practice. We’ve turned a 15’ wide piece of carpet into a 25 ft wide roll of carpet many, many times.
While we don’t have nearly as much experience as the Average Joes, we rolled a 1/4 field piece out and up nearly every day during the 2016 and 2017 build seasons (this year we had a pole barn we were able to set up in). The key to getting the roll straight at the end seems to be getting a good start. Folding up a 3 or 4 foot piece, taking care to align it, and then rolling to that point seems to work well for us. In any case, start making adjustments early, after two turns or so; don’t wait until you’re half way through. Rolling carpet straight is one of those “a stitch in time saves nine” endeavors.
That may be completely correct, if you completely discount all the dirt and stuff that gets into the carpet over the course of the event. It’s more like twice (or thrice) that by the time you get ready to take it home, even if you vacuum it beforehand.
-George
The face weight is the weight of the yarn used on the “face” of the carpet. With the backing included the weight is listed as 50.6 (oz/yard) which calculates to almost 400lbs. Based on my experience of loading and moving a whole lot of the PNW carpet and a faint recollection of the billed weight for it being shipped to the FIRST WA Fieldhouse that sounds about right.
Having rolled and unrolled those many times hopefully for you they did not throw the cardboard cores away. Those are a big help in rolling it up with a decently square end. I recommend at least 3 furniture dollies if you are going to use those. For picking it up and moving it I recommend at least 8 people.
When it comes off of the truck, still wrapped tightly around the core it is about a foot and a half in diameter.
I’d recommend you ask your field supervisor and FTA(A) for assistance cutting the carpet down the middle to make four quadrants. It will be much much easier to move if you do.
Yup a 1/4 field is much easier to deal with. You can get one in a minivan with the seats down/out. I tried a new way for rolling it up tonight. Fold one side and then the other so they meet in the middle. Then walk the folds down and roll. Easier to roll it square than if you just fold it in half, particularly when you are rolling a 37’ long piece. The resulting roll was ~2’ in diameter.
Neat trick!
Our team just recently acquired a 15’ x 74’ roll of field carpet from one of our events. We were told that it weighed 350 lbs. For our needs, we wanted to cut it in half. There was a chalk line marking the center of the field that helped facilitate making a nice square cut with a pair of industrial scissors. Rolling each half onto a tube made it easier. Our robot build site is on the 2nd floor, accessed only by stairs, and we had no problem carrying it up the stairs with 5 to 6 people. When we rolled it up, we secured each 1/4 field roll with 2 ratchet straps, which held it together and made the job much easier. We are now enjoying our new 30’ x 37’ practice field.
The furniture dollies is one of the ways we move our rolls around. That or the car wheel rollers for moving a stored car around in a garage.
We also have found that if you take a tie down strap and loop in under in 3 to 4 spots on the carpet, have students on either side pick up using the straps (6 - 8 people) it is easy to get up onto a trailer and onto the dollies.
By using the dollies three adults were able to unload it off the trailer for the storage unit. Straps really help in the handling of the roll so you can start out sanding higher up and not as bent over.